Heard It in a Past Life

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Heard It in a Past Life
Studio album by
Maggie Rogers
ReleasedJanuary 18, 2019 (2019-01-18)
Genre
Length45:27
Label
Producer
Maggie Rogers chronology
Now That the Light Is Fading
(2017) 		Heard It in a Past Life
(2019) 		Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011–2016
(2020)
Singles from Heard It in a Past Life
  1. "Alaska"
    Released: October 14, 2016
  2. "On + Off"
    Released: January 17, 2017
  3. "Fallingwater"
    Released: May 23, 2018
  4. "Give a Little"
    Released: July 27, 2018
  5. "Light On"
    Released: October 10, 2018
  6. "Burning"
    Released: January 4, 2019

Heard It in a Past Life is the debut studio album by American indie pop singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, released on January 18, 2019, by Debay Sounds and Capitol Records. With help from its hit single "Light On" (2018), the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and received mostly positive reviews from critics, eventually earning Rogers a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist.

Recording and production

Rogers worked on the album for two years, with Rostam Batmanglij, Greg Kurstin, and other high-profile musicians in producer roles.[1] Rogers stated in an interview about the album that "there was so much change that happened so fast, I wasn't always sure how to make all this stuff feel like me. I was really overwhelmed for a while, and scared too."[2][3]

Marketing and sales

The first two singles, "Alaska" and "On + Off", were previously released on Rogers' 2017 EP, Now That the Light Is Fading, followed by "Fallingwater", "Give a Little" and "Light On".[4][5] "Light On" peaked at number one on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart, becoming her first number one song on any Billboard chart.[6] "Light On" was ranked as the 13th best song of 2019 by Billboard.[7]

Heard It in a Past Life was released on January 18, 2019, by Debay Sounds under exclusive license to Capitol Records.[8] According to Rolling Stone, it "announced her as a major indie-pop force and catapulted her into a yearlong tour of sold-out theaters and massive clubs".[9] It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 in its first release week, and by April, it had sold 200,000 album-equivalent units. Since its 2019 release, the album has amassed more than 900 million streams on Spotify.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.0/10[11]
Metacritic71/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Chicago Tribune[14]
Clash8/10[15]
Exclaim!8/10[16]
The Guardian[17]
The Irish Times[18]
NME[19]
Pitchfork5.9/10[20]
Q[21]
Rolling Stone[22]

Heard It in a Past Life was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on 23 reviews.[12] Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times called it a "vibrant electro-pop collection",[18] while USA Today's Maeve McDermott hailed it as one of 2019's best folk-pop albums, along with Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising.[23] Q magazine found the album "thoughtfully constructed and often enchanting",[21] and AllMusic's Heather Phares said Rogers "finds different ways to forge her own bright, assured version of pop" on a "strong debut".[13]

Other reviewers were more critical. Both Laura Snapes of Pitchfork[20] and Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune believed much of the album was overproduced by high-profile co-producers to the detriment of Rogers' talents.[14] Tom Hull said he "could see her developing into some kind of pop star, but may be too adult too early", giving the album a B-plus.[24]

Heard It in a Past Life and "Light On" helped earn Rogers a Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best New Artist for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards (2020).[25]

Rankings

Publication List Rank Ref
Albumism Albumism's 50 Best Albums of 2019 38 [26]
Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2019 5 [27]
Chorus.fm Top 25 Albums of 2019 23 [28]
Complex The 50 Best Albums of 2019 25 [29]
Consequence of Sound The Top 50 Albums of 2019 25 [30]
Esquire 20 Best Albums of 2019 N/A [31]
GQ Best Albums of 2019 N/A [32]
Inside Hook 20 Best Albums of 2019 N/A [33]
The New Yorker The Best Music of 2019 N/A [34]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2019 26 [35]
PopCrush Best Pop Albums of 2019 N/A [36]
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2019 41 [37]
Vice The 100 Best Albums of 2019 88 [38]

"N/A" indicates that the publication did not rank the works included in their year-end list.

Track listing

Track listing and credits adapted from Tidal.[39]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Give a Little"
  • Kurstin
  • Rogers
3:46
2."Overnight"
  • Rogers
  • Kurstin
  • Kurstin
  • Rogers
3:20
3."The Knife"
  • Rogers
  • Kurstin
  • Kurstin
  • Rogers
3:59
4."Alaska"
  • Rogers
  • Doug Schadt
  • Rogers
  • Doug Schadt
3:08
5."Light On"
3:53
6."Past Life"RogersRogers3:36
7."Say It"
  • Rogers
  • Tor Miller
  • Jack Hallenbeck
3:40
8."On + Off"
  • Rogers
  • Nicholas Das
  • Rogers
  • Schadt
  • Das
3:41
9."Fallingwater"
  • Rogers
  • Batmanglij
4:31
10."Retrograde"
  • Rogers
  • Kurstin
  • Kurstin
  • Rogers
4:11
11."Burning"
  • Rogers
  • Reed
3:33
12."Back in My Body"
  • Rogers
  • Rogers
  • Kurstin
4:09
Total length:45:27
  • ^a signifies an additional producer
  • ^b signifies a co-producer

Personnel

Musicians

  • Maggie Rogers – vocals (all tracks), clapping (1), piano (3, 6), percussion (5, 10), programming (8), background vocals (9); drums, keyboards (12)
  • Greg Kurstin – drums, keyboards (1–3, 5, 10, 12), bass (1, 3, 5, 10), guitar (1, 3, 5, 10, 12), synth bass (2, 12), piano (3, 5, 10, 12), percussion (10, 12)
  • Doug Schadt – programming (4, 8)
  • Kid Harpoon – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drum programming, electric guitar, piano (5)
  • Nicholas Das – programming (8)
  • Rostam Batmanglij – 12-string acoustic guitar, background vocals, drum programming, piano, shaker, synthesizer programming (9)

Technical

  • Emily Lazar – mastering (1–3, 5–7, 9–12)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (1–3, 5, 7, 10–12)
  • Tony Maserati – mixing (4, 8)
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixing (6, 9)
  • John Hanes – mix engineering (1–3, 5, 7, 10–12)
  • Tyler Scott – mix engineering (4, 8)
  • Zach Hancock – mix engineering (4, 8)
  • Alex Pasco – engineering (1–3, 5, 10, 12)
  • Greg Kurstin – engineering (1–3, 5, 10, 12)
  • Julian Burg – engineering (1–3, 5, 10, 12)
  • Doug Schadt – engineering (4)
  • Zach Hancock – engineering (4)
  • Chandler Harrod – engineering (6)
  • Ethan Shumaker – engineering (7, 11)
  • Jack Hallenbeck – engineering (7)
  • Maggie Rogers – engineering (7)
  • Nicholas Das – engineering (8)
  • Rostam Batmanglij – engineering (9)
  • Chris Allgood – mastering assistance (1–3, 5–7, 9, 11, 12)
  • Brandon Bost – mixing assistance (9)
  • Dalton Ricks – engineering assistance (9)
  • Nick Rowe – engineering assistance (9)

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[40] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[41] 92
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] 10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[43] 95
Irish Albums (IRMA)[44] 30
Scottish Albums (OCC)[45] 18
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[46] 49
UK Albums (OCC)[47] 25
US Billboard 200[48] 2
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[49] 1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[50] 3

Certifications

Certifications for Heard It in a Past Life
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[51] Gold 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Batmanglij, Rostam (January 22, 2019). "Rostam tells Maggie Rogers that it's time she shed her musical skin". Interview. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  2. ^ "New Release: Maggie Rogers – Heard It In A Past Life / Light On". Thank Folk For That. October 12, 2018. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Heard It in a Past Life – Maggie Rogers – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  4. ^ Kaye, Ben (October 11, 2018). "Maggie Rogers announces debut album, Heard It in a Past Life, shares "Light On"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (October 10, 2018). "Maggie Rogers Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song 'Light On': Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (January 8, 2019). "Maggie Rogers Lands First Billboard No. 1 as 'Light On' Shines Atop Adult Alternative Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  7. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List". Billboard. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  8. ^ Murray, Robin (October 11, 2018). "Maggie Rogers Announces New Album 'Heard It In A Past Life'". Clash. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Martoccio, Angie; Bernstein, Jonathan (November 20, 2019). "Grammys 2020: Meet the Best New Artist Nominees". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Spotify Top Albums".
  11. ^ "Heard It in a Past Life by Maggie Rogers reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Reviews for Heard It in a Past Life by Maggie Rogers". Metacritic. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Heard It in a Past Life – Maggie Rogers". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Kot, Greg (January 25, 2019). "Maggie Rogers lets bombast rule on debut album, 'Heard It in a Past Life'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life". Clash. 17 January 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  16. ^ "Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  17. ^ Hunt, Elle (18 January 2019). "Maggie Rogers: Heard It in a Past Life review – Alaska hitmaker's debut lacks edge". The Guardian. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Clayton-Lea, Tony (January 9, 2019). "Maggie Rogers: Heard it in a Past Life review – Vibrant electro-pop collection". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  19. ^ "Maggie Rogers – 'Heard It In A Past Life' review". NME. 10 January 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Maggie Rogers: Heard It in a Past Life Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Anon. (February 2019). "Heard It in a Past Life". Q. p. 110.
  22. ^ "Review: Maggie Rogers Makes Good on Pop-Phenom Promise with 'Heard It in a Past Life'". Rolling Stone. 16 January 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  23. ^ McDermott, Maeve (June 18, 2019). "The best albums of 2019 so far, from Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and more". USA Today. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  24. ^ Hull, Tom (July 23, 2019). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  25. ^ Phares, Heather (n.d.). "Maggie Rogers". AllMusic. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  26. ^ "Albumism's 50 Best Albums of 2019 | #38: Maggie Rogers' 'Heard It In A Past Life'". Albumism. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  27. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2019: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  28. ^ "Chorus.fm's Top 25 Albums of 2019". Chorus.fm. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  29. ^ "The Best Albums of 2019". Complex. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  30. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2019". Consequence of Sound. 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  31. ^ Miller, Matt; Vain, Madison (2019-12-10). "The Best Albums of 2019". Esquire. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  32. ^ "The GQ Staff's 21 Favorite Albums of 2019". GQ. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  33. ^ "The 100 Best Songs (and 20 Best Albums) of 2019". InsideHook. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  34. ^ Petrusich, Amanda (2019-12-03). "The Best Music of 2019 and the Best Music of the Decade". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  35. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". pastemagazine.com. 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  36. ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2019". PopCrush. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  37. ^ Jonathan Bernstein; Jon Blistein; Jon Dolan; Patrick Doyle; Brenna Ehrlich; Suzy Exposito; Jon Freeman; David Fricke; Kory Grow; Will Hermes; Christian Hoard; Charles Holmes; Joseph Hudak; Brendan Klinkenberg; Elias Leight; Angie Martoccio; Claire Shaffer; Rob Sheffield; Hank Shteamer; Brittany Spanos; Simon Vozick-Levinson (2019-12-05). "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  38. ^ Jenkins, Alex (2019-12-12). "The 100 Best Albums of 2019". Vice. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  39. ^ "Heard It in a Past Life / Maggie Rogers". Tidal. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  40. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  41. ^ "Ultratop.be – Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  42. ^ "Maggie Rogers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  43. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  44. ^ "Dodie lands the highest new entry on the Official Irish Albums Chart as The Greatest Showman scores 20th week at Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  45. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  46. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  47. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  48. ^ "Maggie Rogers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  49. ^ "Maggie Rogers Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  50. ^ "Maggie Rogers Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  51. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life". Music Canada. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  52. ^ "American album certifications – Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 18, 2024.